Lantern House

Lantern House
Lantern House in 2022
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
ClassificationResidential
Coordinates40°44′42″N 74°00′23″W / 40.74500°N 74.00639°W / 40.74500; -74.00639
Design and construction
Architect(s)Thomas Heatherwick
DeveloperRelated Companies

Lantern House is a residential development in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City. Thomas Heatherwick designed the building, and Related Companies developed it.

History and development

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Related paid $205 million for the site in 2014.[1] The earliest permits for work on the site were filed in 2016.[1] Massings for the project were revealed in 2017.[2] Designs for the structures were first published by the press in early 2018.[3] Reporting has connected Lantern House to another Related development at 555 West 22nd Street, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, referring to them jointly as "Hudson Residences".[4]

As of early 2021, the building was nearing completion.[5] It was completed in September 2021.[6]

Design

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The building under construction in March 2019

The building's windows inspired the name of the development, as they evoke the shape of a lantern,[7] though they have also been unfavorably compared to pickle and beer barrels.[8] Heatherwick was inspired in part by bay windows he has seen in Victorian homes.[9] Heatherwick also drew inspiration from industrial warehouses located in Manhattan and elsewhere in New York, from which he derived the building's brick façade.[9]

The High Line park bisects the two structures that form the building, though a lobby joins them at street level.[7] March & White designed the building's interiors.[5]

Architectural reception

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Eva Hagberg, writing for Curbed criticized the building as "one idea about a window, repeated", further calling the bay windows a "gimmick gone too far".[10] In another Curbed article about new buildings near the High Line and their design, an anonymous architect was quoted, referring to the building as "a disaster" and "the nail in the coffin" for the architectural character of the area.[8] Another anonymous architect gave Heatherwick some praise for the design's apparent nod to the nearby industrial buildings that date to before the High Line's conversion from railroad to park.[8]

Usage

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The building is residential, with 181 condominium units.[9]

The building also contains an Italian restaurant, Cucina Alba.[11] The restaurant opened in 2022.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Baird-Remba, Rebecca (September 30, 2016). "Permits Filed: 501 West 18th Street, Chelsea". New York YIMBY. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  2. ^ Nelson, Andrew (November 14, 2017). "Massing Diagram Up for Related Companies' 511 West 18th Street and 500 West 19th Street, West Chelsea". New York YIMBY. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Hylton, Ondel (January 9, 2018). "Thomas Heatherwick Designs Bubble-Wrapped Condos to Saddle Up Next to the High Line". City Realty. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ Hilburg, Jonathan (January 10, 2018). "A first look at Thomas Heatherwick's bulging High Line towers". The Architect’s Newspaper. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Young, Michael (January 21, 2021). "Construction Wraps Up on Thomas Heatherwick's Lantern House at 515 West 18th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan". New York YIMBY. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Waddoups, Ryan (September 22, 2021). "Heatherwick Studio's Lantern House Is Complete". SURFACE. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Clarke, Katherine (February 13, 2020). "How Thomas Heatherwick Became the Poster Boy for Manhattan's West Side Renaissance". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Velsey, Kim (December 6, 2021). "Architects Agree: The Buildings Around the High Line Are Terrible". Curbed. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c McKeough, Tim (January 24, 2020). "The High Line's Latest Starchitect Project (Published 2020)". The New York Times. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Hagberg, Eva (October 26, 2021). "Thomas Heatherwick's High Line Condos Are Just One Idea About Windows, Repeated". Curbed. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Fabricant, Florence (August 16, 2022). "Cucina Alba Opens, Serving Italian at the Edge of the High Line". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2023.